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Apple AirPlay Private Key Exposed

An anonymous reader writes "James Laird has reverse engineered the Airport Express private key and published an open source AirPort Express emulator. 'My girlfriend moved house, and her Airport Express no longer made it with her wireless access point. I figured it'd be easy to find an ApEx emulator — there are several open source apps out there to play to them. However, I was disappointed to find that Apple used a public-key crypto scheme, and there's a private key hiding inside the ApEx. So I took it apart (I still have scars from opening the glued case!), dumped the ROM, and reverse engineered the keys out of it.'"

13 of 306 comments (clear)

  1. Please tell me by MarkRose · · Score: 5, Funny

    If you extract the ROM out of an Apple device, is that a core dump?

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    Be relentless!
  2. Re:Slashdotter already by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    Here's the key on the VideoLan boards.

    Airport RSA Key

  3. posted to vlc-devel list by pinkishpunk · · Score: 5, Informative

    he did a post to the vlc-devel list here, http://mailman.videolan.org/pipermail/vlc-devel/2011-April/079616.html It private rsa key is there, might be a good thing to download, if you are worried apple might do something stupid.

  4. The best part by AK76 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    From the README:
    "Thanks also to Apple for obfuscating the private key in the ROM image, using a
    scheme that made the deobfuscation code itself stand out like a flare."

  5. Re:and how many people use Airport? by characterZer0 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I bought one once. I set up the network for a small organization and every time there was any kind of problem they blamed the WiFi router and called me. I bought a Airport and threw that in there instead. Now they have just as many problems but they assume that the Apple product cannot possibly be the issue, and I have not received a complaint from them since. It has been a almost two years. It was well worth the $180 to me.

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  6. Re:Slashdotter already by Hazel+Bergeron · · Score: 5, Informative

    And here's a post which may or may not receive a takedown notice from Apple. Remove the extra spaces inserted to evade the lameness filter.

    -----BEGIN RSA PRIVATE KEY-----
    MIIEpQIBAAKCAQEA59dE8qLie ItsH1WgjrcFRKj6eUWqi+bGLOX1HL3U3GhC/j0Qg90u3sG/1CUt
    wC5vOYvfDmFI6oSFXi5ELabWJ mT2dKHzBJKa3k9ok+8t9ucRqMd6DZHJ2YCCLlDRKSKv6kDqnw4U
    wPdpOMXziC/AMj3Z/lUVX1G7W SHCAWKf1zNS1eLvqr+boEjXuBOitnZ/bDzPHrTOZz0Dew0uowxf /+sG+NCK3eQJVxqcaJ/vEHKIVd 2M+5qL71yJQ+87X6oV3eaYvt3zWZYD6z5vYTcrtij2VZ9Zmni/
    UAaHqn9JdsBWLUEpVviYnhimN VvYFZeCXg/IdTQ+x4IRdiXNv5hEewIDAQABAoIBAQDl8Axy9XfW
    BLmkzkEiqoSwF0PsmVrPzH9Ks nwLGH+QZlvjWd8SWYGN7u1507HvhF5N3drJoVU3O14nDY4TFQAa
    LlJ9VM35AApXaLyY1ERrN7u9AL Kd2LUwYhM7Km539O4yUFYikE2nIPscEsA5ltpxOgUGCY7b7ez5
    NtD6nL1ZKauw7aNXmVAvmJTcuP xWmoktF3gDJKK2wxZuNGcJE0uFQEG4Z3BrWP7yoNuSK3dii2jm
    lpPHr0O/KnPQtzI3eguhe0TwUem/e YSdyzMyVx/YpwkzwtYL3sR5k0o9rKQLtvLzfAqdBxBurciz
    aaA/L0HIgAmOit1GJA2saMxTVPNh AoGBAPfgv1oeZxgxmotiCcMXFEQEWflzhWYTsXrhUIuz5jFu
    a39GLS99ZEErhLdrwj8rDDViRVJ5s kOp9zFvlYAHs0xh92ji1E7V/ysnKBfsMrPkk5KSKPrnjndM
    oPdevWnVkgJ5jxFuNgxkOLMuG9i53 B4yMvDTCRiIPMQ++N2iLDaRAoGBAO9v//mU8eVkQaoANf0Z
    oMjW8CN4xwWA2cSEIHkd9AfFkftuv8 oyLDCG3ZAf0vrhrrtkrfa7ef+AUb69DNggq4mHQAYBp7L+
    k5DKzJrKuO0r+R0YbY9pZD1+/g9dVt9 1d6LQNepUE/yY2PP5CNoFmjedpLHMOPFdVgqDzDFxU8hL
    AoGBANDrr7xAJbqBjHVwIzQ4To9pb4B NeqDndk5Qe7fT3+/H1njGaC0/rXE0Qb7q5ySgnsCb3DvA
    cJyRM9SJ7OKlGt0FMSdJD5KG0XPIpA VNwgpXXH5MDJg09KHeh0kXo+QA6viFBi21y340NonnEfdf
    54PX4ZGS/Xac1UK+pLkBB+zRAoGAf0 AY3H3qKS2lMEI4bzEFoHeK3G895pDaK3TFBVmD7fV0Zhov
    17fegFPMwOII8MisYm9ZfT2Z0s5Ro3s5r kt+nvLAdfC/PYPKzTLalpGSwomSNYJcB9HNMlmhkGzc
    1JnLYT4iyUyx6pcZBmCd8bD0iwY/FzcgN DaUmbX9+XDvRA0CgYEAkE7pIPlE71qvfJQgoA9em0gI
    LAuE4Pu13aKiJnfft7hIjbK+5kyb3TysZvoyD nb3HOKvInK7vXbKuU4ISgxB2bB3HcYzQMGsz1qJ
    2gG0N5hvJpzwwhbhXqFKA4zaaSrw622wD niAK5MlIE0tIAKKP4yxNGjoD2QYjhBGuhvkWKaXTyY=
    -----END RSA PRIVATE KEY-----

  7. Re:Good guys? Really? by Squiggle · · Score: 5, Insightful

    You're pro-open source, so that makes you a "good guy"? I like chocolate, you like vanilla, ergo, I am good, you are bad.

    Does being pro-freedom make you a good guy? Does believing that everyone should have free access make you a good guy? Does helping your others make you a good guy?

    Free software ideology isn't about the end product, it isn't chocolate versus vanilla, it is about process and access: how do we choose what gets made, how do we make it, who gets to make it and who gets access to what has been made?

    --
    Complexity Happens
  8. Re:real easy innit by clickclickdrone · · Score: 5, Funny

    >2. A pinch of dissappointment
    The considerably less lethal version of Spock's death grip.

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    I want a list of atrocities done in your name - Recoil
  9. Re:Apple-time by Mia'cova · · Score: 5, Funny

    Let's see someone add airplay support to the ps3. See how many companies can get pissed off at once. If you play it right, they could be goaded into fighting each other. Fingers crossed! Maybe these companies will finally deliver something entertaining to watch :)

  10. Re:Slashdotter already by Shakrai · · Score: 5, Funny

    No one time pad. Less space than a TrueCrypt container. Lame.

    --
    I want peace on earth and goodwill toward man.
    We are the United States Government! We don't do that sort of thing.
  11. Re:Cue lawsuit in ... by jrumney · · Score: 5, Informative

    The DCMA has an exception for reverse engineering for compatibility. In this case, the private key is not protecting content, it is protecting Apple's monopoly on interoperating with iDevices in a particular way, so it was fair game.

  12. Re:What does it do? by ceoyoyo · · Score: 5, Informative

    The Airport Express AP has an audio out jack. An iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad or iTunes can route music to that device. Unfortunately when it was introduced Apple decided to encrypt the stream so only Airport Expresses were valid receivers. Now anything that has a network connection and can run a program can be the receiver.

  13. Re:Slashdotter already by hey! · · Score: 5, Funny

    Thanks for that. One thing about getting older is that your memory doesn't dish up all the bits you need on time. So you end up having conversations like this:

    Me: Hahaha!
    Wife: What's so funny?
    Me: Look what this guy wrote: 'That's amazing! I've got the same combination on my luggage!' Haha!
    Wife: Why is that funny?
    Me [frowning]: I don't know.

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